U.S. patent number 5,714,931 [Application Number 08/605,649] was granted by the patent office on 1998-02-03 for personalized security system.
Invention is credited to J. W. Hosmer, Thomas D. Petite.
United States Patent |
5,714,931 |
Petite , et al. |
February 3, 1998 |
Personalized security system
Abstract
The present invention relates to a personalized security system,
in which a portable transmitter may be carried or worn by an
individual and activated by the individual in need of assistance to
transmit data relating specifically to the individual. The data is
received by a transceiver located nearby to the individual and
transmitted with additional data to a remote receiver. The remote
receiver then forwards information relating to the data to
emergency personnel who use the information to determine the
location of the individual, as well as particulars relating
specifically to the individual, such as a name and a physical
description.
Inventors: |
Petite; Thomas D.
(Douglasville, GA), Hosmer; J. W. (Atlanta, GA) |
Family
ID: |
22918005 |
Appl.
No.: |
08/605,649 |
Filed: |
February 22, 1996 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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243263 |
May 16, 1994 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
340/539.17;
340/13.26; 340/531; 340/539.11; 340/573.1; 340/8.1; 455/521 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G08B
25/016 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G08B
25/01 (20060101); G08B 001/08 () |
Field of
Search: |
;340/825.49,573,574,539,825.72,531 ;455/54.2 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Hofsass; Jeffery
Assistant Examiner: Wong; Albert K.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Troutman Sanders LLP Goldman; Joel
S.
Parent Case Text
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/243,263, filed on
May 16, 1994, abandoned.
Claims
We claim:
1. For use in combination with a self-service bank transaction
facility, an assistance procuring system comprising:
a totable transmitter including means for activation by a user, and
means responsive to said activation means for transmitting a first
signal, said first signal being encoded to uniquely identify the
transmitter;
a transceiver installed in close proximity to the self-service bank
transaction facility including means for receiving said first
signal, and means for transmitting a second signal encoded to
include transceiver location information and transmitter
identification information derived from said first signal;
a remote station including a database having a plurality of
updateable data elements including personal information relating to
the user, the remote station further including means responsive to
the second signal for indexably retrieving one or more of the data
elements.
2. The assistance procuring system of claim 1, wherein one or more
of the plurality of data elements are selected from the group
consisting of:
(a) the user's address;
(b) a description of the user;
(c) a digitized picture of the user;
(d) the user's vehicle tag number;
(e) the user's vehicle identification number;
(f) the user's vehicle LOJACK number;
(g) the user's nearest relatives or friends;
(h) the addresses of the user's nearest relative or friend;
(i) medical information of the user;
(j) an I.D. number assigned to the user; and
(k) the user's name.
3. The system of claim 1 wherein said database includes one or more
updateable elements relating to emergency personnel in the vicinity
of said transceiver.
4. The assistance procuring system of claim 1 wherein said totable
transmitter includes a memory device adapted to store data for
producing said encoded signal.
5. The assistance procuring system of claim 1, wherein the totable
transmitter further includes means for transmitting a set of one or
more data elements representative of the nature of the assistance
needed.
6. For use in an assistance procuring system for a bank
self-service facility, said system including a totable transmitter
adapted to transmit a first signal containing a first set of one or
more data elements representative of personal information relating
to a user, and a transceiver located in close proximity to the bank
self-service facility and adapted to receive said first signal and
further adapted to transmit a second signal including said first
set of said data elements and one or more additional data elements;
a remote station comprising:
a memory device adapted to store a plurality of updateable data
elements corresponding to personal information relating to the
user;
means for receiving said second signal; and
means for generating a third signal corresponding to said first set
of said one or more data elements, said one or more additional data
elements, and said plurality of data elements.
7. The remote station according to claim 6, wherein said plurality
of data elements is organized in a searchable data base.
8. The remote station of claim 6 where said memory device is
further adapted to store updateable information relating to
emergency personnel located in the vicinity of said
transceiver.
9. A method of procuring assistance, said method comprising the
steps
(a) accepting, at a totable transmitter, a first signal from a
user, said signal indicating assistance is needed;
(b) transmitting a second signal from the totable transmitter to a
transceiver located at a bank self-service facility, wherein said
second signal includes user identifying information;
(c) transmitting a third signal from said transceiver to a
receiver, wherein said third signal includes location identifying
information;
(d) receiving said third signal from said transceiver at a remote
station;
(e) accessing a storage device at the remote station retrieve a
plurality of updateable data elements relating to the user; and
(f) forwarding from the remote station a fourth signal
corresponding to said plurality of data elements and the location
of the transceiver.
10. The assistance procuring method of claim 9, wherein said
plurality of updateable data elements is selected from the group
consisting of:
(a) the user's address;
(b) a description of the user;
(c) a digitized picture of the user;
(d) the user's vehicle tag number;
(e) the user's vehicle identification number;
(f) the user's vehicle LOJACK number;
(g) the user's nearest relatives or friends;
(h) the addresses of the user's nearest relatives or friends;
(i) an ID number assigned to the user;
(j) medical information of the user; and
(k) the user's name.
Description
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to security systems. More
specifically, the present invention relates to a personalized
security system, in which a portable transmitter may be carried or
worn by an individual and activated by the individual in need of
assistance to transmit data relating specifically to the
individual. The data is received by a transceiver located nearby to
the individual and transmitted with additional data to a remote
receiver. The remote receiver then forwards information relating to
the data to emergency personnel who use the information to
determine the location of the individual, as well as particulars
relating specifically to the individual, such as a name and a
physical description.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Emergency type situations, such as burglaries, fires, and sickness,
have previously given rise to the introduction of a variety of
remote emergency warning systems. In particular, many homeowners
use security systems which are installed in the home and can be
remotely monitored. These systems typically have the ability to
indicate the type of assistance needed, such as the police, fire
department, or an ambulance and the location of the home. A
drawback to these systems is that they are of no use once the
individual leaves his or her home.
Modern day trends show an increase in random acts of violence, such
as robberies, assaults, and batteries. For this reason, personal
remote emergency warning systems have also been introduced. These
systems typically allow an individual to carry or wear a
transmitter which may be manually or automatically activated when
the individual encounters an emergency type situation. Once
activated, the transmitter typically sends a signal containing
information identifying the particular transmitter and the nature
of the emergency to a remote transceiver which forwards the
information to emergency personnel.
A drawback to these latter systems is that no data relating
specifically to the individual is transmitted by the transmitter.
Therefore, though emergency personnel could identify the
transmitter and the nature of the emergency, no information
regarding the user, such as the name of the user, the description
of the user, the user's vehicle tag number, and the like, is
immediately available to the emergency personnel. Due to this
inadequacy, precious time may be wasted as the emergency personnel
arrives at the scene of an emergency with no information regarding
the individual they have arrived to assist.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a new
system for personalized security is provided. The present invention
overcomes the inadequacies of prior art personalized security
systems by providing a means for data related specifically to a
user of the system to be transmitted to emergency personnel when
assistance is needed. For example, an individual at an Automated
Teller Machine (ATM) could notify the police of a robbery at the
ATM as it is occurring, where the notice to the police could
include the location of the crime, the individual's name, a
description of the individual, the individual's vehicle tag number
and much more. By having this information immediately accessible,
the police could then more precisely and efficiently act to rescue
the individual.
The system includes a portable transmitter, a transceiver, and a
remote receiver. The portable transmitter sends a signal containing
the personalized data to a nearby transceiver, the transceiver
forwards the data to a remote receiver, and the remote receiver
forwards the data to the emergency personnel.
The portable transmitter is a hand held unit, which may be very
small such that it is easily carried in an individual's pocket or
on a key ring. The personal transmitter preferably transmits an FSK
tone modulation signal to the transceiver, where the signal
contains data relating to a distinct user identification code. In
addition, the signal may also include other data specific to the
individual such as the individual's name, address, description,
vehicle tag number, vehicle identification number, LOJACK car
number, nearest relative, and much more.
The transceiver receives the data from the portable transmitter,
decodes the data, and adds data related to the location of the
transceiver. The transceiver then transmits the data to the remote
receiver, preferably over a telephone line via a modem. The
location of the transceiver is anywhere in the proximate area to
where the individual activates the personal transmitter. For
example, the transceiver may be located in an ATM or in a building
such as a grocery store, in the vicinity of the individual.
The remote receiver receives the data and uses a database to obtain
any further data relating to the user and to obtain information on
the emergency personnel closest to the location of the transceiver.
The remote receiver then transmits the data to the emergency
personnel identified from the database, such as the closest police
department. The emergency personnel may then provide more efficient
and precise assistance to the individual activating the system due
to the personalized data.
One example of a situation in which the personalized security
system of the present invention would provide improved security is
a robbery and kidnapping situation at an ATM. For instance, if a
user is attacked at an ATM, the user may activate the system, and
emergency personnel may be quickly notified of the particulars on
the user. Therefore, the police may be notified to be on the
lookout for an individual and a car meeting certain descriptions.
With this information, the police might catch the criminal driving
off with the user, in the user's car, or both.
In another example, if a user incurred a medical problem in a
crowded public area, medical personnel may be summoned quickly. The
medical personnel may then arrive at the scene with information
relating to the physical description and the medical condition of
the individual in need of assistance.
The aforementioned and other aspects of the present invention are
described in the detailed description and attached illustrations
which follow.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram illustrating the interaction between
the portable transmitter device, the transceiver, and the remote
receiver.
FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of the portable transmitter
device.
FIG. 3 depicts a block diagram of the transceiver.
FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram of the remote receiver.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The following is a preferred implementation of the personalized
security system 100 of the present invention as shown in FIG. 1.
The system 100 includes a portable transmitter device 120, a
transceiver 130, and a remote receiver 140. The portable
transmitter device 120 transmits a signal 115 containing data
specific to an individual to the transceiver 130. The signal is
then decoded by the transceiver 130 and forwarded with additional
data over a telephone line 135 to the remote receiver 140.
Emergency personnel is then notified by the remote receiver 140 of
the location and the particular individual needing assistance.
The portable transmitter device 120 is a hand held unit which may
be carried or worn by an individual. In one embodiment, the
portable transmitter device 120 is encompassed in a plastic housing
250. A ring 240 may be mounted to the plastic housing 250 such that
an individual may carry the portable transmitter device 120 on a
key ring.
In one embodiment, the portable transmitter device 120 includes a
top button 210 and bottom button 220 which are mounted on the top
and bottom or other opposed sides of the plastic housing 250,
respectively. The buttons 210 and 220 are wired to a transmitter
230 located within the portable transmitter device 120. When the
two buttons 210 and 220 are pressed simultaneously by the user, the
transmitter 230 is activated.
In a second embodiment, the portable transmitter includes two or
more top buttons 210 and one bottom button 220. In this embodiment,
each of the top buttons represents a particular emergency type
condition. For example, the first top button 210 could represent
that police assistance is needed and the second top button 210
could represent that medical assistance is required. While it is
impossible to describe every conceivable type of emergency
condition in which the present invention may be used, other top
buttons 210 could represent a fife or automobile trouble. When a
top button 210 and bottom button 220 are then pressed
simultaneously, the transmitter is activated and a signal
containing the type of emergency condition is sent to the
transceiver 130 (see FIG. 1).
Though the simultaneous pressed button configuration for activating
the transmitter is described for the two embodiments, those of
ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that there are many
other equivalent means that could be used for the same purpose.
The transmitter 230 transmits an FSK tone modulation signal 115
(see FIG. 1), similar to that of a cellular phone, which preferably
reaches a minimum of 150 feet away. In one embodiment, the signal
transmitted contains a distinct identification code for the user.
The PT-2D portable transmitter device available from Transcience of
Stamford, Conn. may be utilized to transmit up to 65,536 distinct
four digit codes to identify the user. The PT-2D uses dip switches
located on the exterior of the portable transmitter device 120 to
set the user identification code.
In another embodiment, the portable transmitter device 120 includes
a Read Only Memory (ROM) device in which the user identification
code is programmed into it. This embodiment improves on the PT-2D
because the number of user identification codes for the
personalized security system of the present invention is no longer
limited by the number of dip switches. Further, the user no longer
has the capability of purposefully or accidentally. flipping a dip
switch thereby sending an improper user identification code when
the portable transmitter device 120 is activated.
In yet another embodiment, the transmitter 230 transmits the signal
containing two or more data elements stored on a ROM where the data
elements are specific to the user. These data elements may include
as the user's identification code, name, address, description,
digitized picture, medical condition, vehicle tag number, vehicle
identification number, LOJACK number, nearest relative or friend,
and much more.
Though preferred embodiments for transmitting a signal with data
related specifically to the user are described, one of ordinary
skill in the art would appreciate that other types of transmitters
may be used. For example, a transmitter that transmits a satellite
signal, and a transmitter that transmits billions of distinct codes
to identify different users may be used in the personalized
security system of the present invention.
The transceiver 130 receives the data from the portable
transmitter, decodes the data, and adds data related to the
location of the transceiver 130. The data is then transmitted by
the transceiver 130 to the remote receiver 140.
In one embodiment, the transceiver 130 includes an antenna 305, a
receiver/decoder 310, an interface unit 320, a central processing
unit (CPU) 330, a modem 340, and a battery pack 350. For external
mountings, the transceiver 130 components may be housed in a metal
box or any other housing that accommodates electrical components.
For internal mountings, such as a computer or ATM, the transceiver
components may be manufactured onto a small circuit board.
The signal sent by the portable transmitter device 120 is received
by the antenna 305. The antenna 305 is coupled to the
receiver/decoder 310 and is capable of receiving a FSK tone
modulation signal.
In one embodiment, referred to as the remote antenna embodiment,
the antenna 305 is mounted to the top of a structure, such as a
grocery store, and wiring, such as coaxial cable, is used to
connect the antenna 305 to the receiver/decoder 310. In a second
embodiment, referred to as the solid mount embodiment, the antenna
is mounted to the transceiver box housing the components of the
transceiver, and wiring is used to couple the antenna 305 to the
receiver/decoder 310.
The receiver/decoder 310 receives the signal 115 (see FIG. 1) from
the antenna 305. The data within the signal 115 is then decoded by
the receiver/decoder 310 and forwarded to the interface unit
320.
The interface unit 320 receives the data from the receiver/decoder
310 and conditions the data for the CPU 330. The data is then
forwarded by the interface unit 320 to the CPU 330.
The CPU 330 includes memory capacity to store at least 65,536 four
digit user identification codes, but preferably billions of user
codes. These user codes are downloaded from the remote receiver 140
(see FIG. 1) as users are added and deleted to the system. The user
identification code forwarded from the interface unit 320 is then
verified against the user identification codes stored in the CPU
330. If the user identification code is confirmed and validated,
then the CPIJ 330 appends a location code to the conditioned data
which identifies the location of the transceiver 130. The CPU then
forwards the conditioned data to the modem and commands the modem
340 to dial up the remote receiver 140.
The modem 340 is a standard telephone modem. Once the modem
receives the conditioned data and the command to dial the remote
receiver 140 from the CPU, the modem transmits a "Request for
Assistance" over a telephone line 135 to the remote receiver 140.
After the modem 340 receives an acknowledgement from the remote
receiver 140, the modem 340 transmits the conditioned data to the
remote receiver 140 over the telephone line 135.
The RT-232 receiver/decoder device available from Transceiver,
which recognizes up to 65,536 distinct codes, may be used for the
transceiver. However, as one of ordinary skill in the art would
appreciate, an equivalent device or one which recognizes billions
of distinct user codes could also be used. Also, it would be
readily understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the
transceiver 130 may communicate with the remote receiver 140 over
many equivalent means other than telephone lines, such as cellular
and satellite links.
In a second embodiment, the CPU 330 of the transceiver 130 also
includes memory capacity to store data elements for different
users. The transceiver 130 then uses the data, such as the user
identification code or any other data element related to the user,
received from the portable transmitter device 120 and database
software to obtain additional data in connection with the user.
This data may include information related specifically to
characteristics of the user, such as size, weight, height, hair
color, eye color, birth marks, age, medical condition and race.
Moreover, this data may include information of the user's vehicle,
such as type, model, year, color, tag, identification number, and
LOJACK number. Further, the data may include information on the
user's nearest relatives and friends and much more user specific
information. The CPU 330 may then append the additional data to the
conditioned data and forward all of the data to the remote receiver
140.
The transceiver 130 is located a distance in close proximity to
where the user activates the portable transmitter device 120,
preferably within 150 feet. The structure for locating the
transceiver 130 may be almost any structure, including an automatic
teller machine (ATM), a grocery store, or the like. The transceiver
130 may be mounted on a wall, floor or almost anywhere else. The
structure that the transceiver 130 is located preferably includes a
110 volt electrical outlet and a telephone line.
The transceiver 130 preferably runs off of 110 volts. However, a
battery pack trickle charger battery pack 350 is also included in
the transceiver 130 to provide backup power for power outages
instances. In one embodiment, the battery pack 350 provides 12
volts, 12 amps, and 24 hours of power. In another embodiment, the
battery pack 350 provides 12 volts, 15 amps, and 48 hours of
power.
The remote receiver 140 is a computer which includes a modem 410
and a CPU 420. The remote receiver 140 uses database software and
the CPU 420 to store further data related specifically to the users
of the system, as well as data related to emergency personnel.
The remote receiver 140 receives the data from the transceiver 130
over the telephone line via the modem 410, and uses the database
software and the user's identification code or any other data
element related to the user to obtain further information in
connection with the user. This information may include information
related specifically to characteristics of the user, such as size,
weight, height, hair color, eye color, birth marks, age, medical
condition and race. Moreover, this information may include
information of the user's vehicle, such as type, model, year,
color, tag, identification number, and LOJACK number. Further, the
information may include the user's nearest relatives and friends
and much more user specific information. Finally, the location
identifier data element for the transceiver may be used to obtain
information from the database on the address of where the
transceiver 130 (see FIG. 1) is located, the cross streets nearest
to the transceiver 130, and the emergency personnel, such as the
police department, fire department, and ambulance, closest to the
transceiver 130.
The remote receiver 140 then uses the modem 410 to notify the
emergency personnel closest to the transceiver 130 about the user
in need of assistance. During the notification process, the
information relating specifically to the user who activated the
portable transmitter device 120 (see FIG. 1) is sent to the
emergency personnel. The emergency personnel is then able to
provide more efficient and precise assistance to the user of the
personalized security system of the present invention. As one of
ordinary skill in the art would appreciate, the remote receiver 140
may communicate with the emergency over many equivalent means, such
as cellular and satellite links. Moreover, communication with
emergency personnel may include direct communication with police
officers in their cars, firemen in their fire trucks and many
others with access to communication links.
In addition to identifying pertinent user information and notifying
emergency personnel, the remote receiver 140 may store the time,
date, and location of the transceiver 130 (see FIG. 1) for each
instance the personalized security system is activated. Further,
activated and deactivated user identification numbers may be
downloaded by the remote receiver 140 to the CPU 330 of the
transceiver 130 (see FIG. 3). Moreover, the remote receiver 140 may
perform random operation checks on the transceiver 130.
* * * * *